Hi all,
Years ago a friend who worked in the mail-order industry, gave me a tour of the mail room. One of the clients they processed mailings for was a TV minister of questionable morals. The mailing I saw included a small patch of cloth.
As I recall, the instructions were something like pray the prayer written on the mailing once a night for 6 nights, and sleep with patch of cloth under your pillow. On the 7th day the person was instructed to send the cloth back to him with their highest and best offering, and their prayer would be answered.
What the Bible says about money is far different from that preacher and what most of the pastors in the auditorium churches teach. This series will cover NT giving, but more than that, some concepts about money that form a foundation for balanced Biblical prosperity.
Think of money like water
If you think of money like water you can picture it flowing away from you in some things, and flowing towards you with investments. For instance, if you buy a soft drink you’ll never see that money again. But if you put that same money into your home, or savings, or investment, it will come back to you.
Money flowing away from you like water includes…
Moral actions: Immorality (sexual sin), dishonest gain, troubling your family, refusing correction, covering your sin (wrong doing with resources), loving pleasure out of balance, loving drink/addictions, overeating, stupid friends (vain friends). Proverbs 5:10, 10: 3, 11:29, 13:18, 28:13, 21:17, 23:21, 28:19
Mistakes with money: Co-signing a note, getting money without working for it, unwise use of credit, giving to the rich, charging interest on a friend, get rich quick schemes, lack of sales resistance, not having a budget, impulse buying. Proverbs 11:15, 13:11, 22:7, 22:16, 28:8, 28:22, 20:21, 21: 5, 14:15, 24:3-4 Living Bible, 27:20
Work habits: Sleeping too much, not being diligent at work, talking too much, slothfulness – not lazy, just no drive to work, chasing fantasies. Proverbs 6:11, 10:4, 14:23, 19:15, 28:19 NIV
Win the lottery?
In I Corinthians 10: 13 it says God will not allow us to be tested above what we are able to handle, and will when the enemy comes in, make a way of escape.
From His point of view, if a person is not handling the money they have now, why would He give them more to mismanage? He promises not to give us more than we can handle – if you can’t handle what you have, He won’t give you more. Ta da….it’s that simple sometimes.
Change your ability to handle more – a Talent was a unit of money by weight
In the parable of the Talents, found in Matthew 25: 14-30, we have the story of a master who calls his 3 servants and gives them 1 talent, 2 talents, and 5 talents “according to each one’s ability.” v15
A talent is a weight of money, the highest level of currency in the first century, generally believed to have been about 75-100 US pounds (34-45k) of gold or silver, the most common footnote is 75 pounds (NIV). One man received 1 talent, another 2 talents, another 5 talents, ‘according to each one’s ability.’
Here Jesus teaches us the only 3 things that can be done with money. The man who started with 5 talents, bought and sold, adding to those 5 another 5, for a total of 10. The man who started with 2, did equally well, adding another 2 for a total of 4. Buying and selling is the 1st and highest thing that can be done with money.
The man who had received the 1 talent buried it in the ground. The master told him he should have at least put it in the bank to gain interest. These are the 2 other things to be done with money – put it somewhere to gain interest, or bury it in the ground. In today’s economies due to inflation, these 2 options cause you to lose money. Buy/sell, interest, bury. Those are the 3 things to be done with money.
But I want to direct our attention back to the conditions each received money.
It was ‘according to each’s ability.’ God won’t give you more than you can handle, so if you want to handle more, change your ability.
Learn a trade, go to school, take classes, work with someone you can learn from….it is up to us not God to increase our ability. The Master didn’t change their ability, that part was up to them. If you increase your ability, all other things being equal, more money will flow to you. Will you handle it properly? Can the master give you more? Are you handling what you have?
These things are all our responsibility, not His. He knows your heart, and if you are set on improving your ability for Him to flow increased money towards you, change your ability.
Streams of income flowing towards you
The Bible teaches as you can see above, the Lord meeting our needs. Very few proverbs or other verses are about having enough money to buy our desires. In much of the world it is difficult just having basic needs met. So let us see what the Bible really says about money coming to us.
The Bible describes multiple streams of income flowing towards a person to meet their needs, and desires beyond that. Multiple streams.
Consider Job
Job 1:3 says he owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen (1000 oxen), and 500 female donkeys. In modern terms, camels were over the road semi-trucks, or lorries, meaning he ran caravans all over the Middle East. Female donkeys were around town delivery trucks/lorries. 1000 yoked oxen means a huge farming operation. 7,000 sheep meant meat, wool/weaving, and so much more. Add in all the products produced like milk, meat, leather and such, and Job had multiple streams of income flowing towards him.
Consider the Proverbs 31: 10-31 woman
Verse 13 says she seeks wool and flax, then works them with her hands – weaving. Verse 14 says she buys/sells or imports/exports what she makes, like a merchant ship.
In v15 she expands the business with hard work, rising before day to give food to her family and to her employees. Verse 16 tells us she takes the profits and: “She considers a field and buys it, planting a vineyard with her own hands.”
So now she has employees weaving flax and wool, and she is able to shift her attention to buying land, and making it produce. Verses 18 & 19 tells us she knows her products are good, and she still spends time at the loom – showing she maintains oversight of her businesses.
Money flowing like water to you or away from you, moral uprightness, wisdom and common sense, changing your ability, multiple streams of income. Has this been food for thought? It is true Biblical prosperity.
We have covered much ground, and there is more for next week – the OT tithe….until then, blessings,
John Fenn
